Interrupted

Interrupted

Her eyes popped open. Someone had their lips on her mouth. Kissing her. Oka-ay. Kissing... She let her eyes drift shut to enjoy the sensation. It must be her mate. What? Wait. No! It can't be...

She had the overwhelming need to cough. She couldn't help it. She coughed. Turned her head to the side and coughed and… Ew. That had to be a turn off! She spewed out even more. Poor fellow trying his best to make passionate love to her coming in again to close his mouth around hers just got spit on instead.

He turned her towards him and patted her back. “There you go, Your Highness. Good job. Keep spitting it out. You're coming around now. You'll be fine. Good. Good.”

She kept coughing and sputtering. “Wh-what..? W-why..? Who..? Who are you? What are you trying to do to me? Why are you kissing me? Get away from me! You can't be...” She raised her arm to take a swing at his smoochy face but he was faster and already had a firm grip on her wrist and had it under control.

“You are okay now. Take some deep breaths. I am trying to save your life. Giving you my own breath. You swallowed an ocean and wasn't breathing. Keep spitting it out. Good. Good.”

“Who are you and why are you out of uni...? Why are you out of any...?”

“I thought you needed it more than myself at the moment. Seems you lost most all...”

She looked down at herself seeing only a flimsy sheet covering her nearly naked body. That means he must have seen her. All of her.

“Maybe we can discuss this after I try to save his life?” He pointed at a lifeless looking body nearby.

She tried to watch as he bent over the body and started making kiss-y sounds. Over and over again. She thought he must be trying to force air into the man's lungs. Exactly as he must have been administrating to her lips. She brought trembling fingers to her lips remembering the connection. Not unpleasant at all. Life-saving! That was...different.

She tried to move closer but pain shot through her and a whelp of agony escaped her involuntarily. She felt like something was tying her down.

His eyes shot towards her, “Don't try to move yet until I can see how bad your injury is. One thing at a time, please, Your Highness.” He proceeded with his fruitless task.

Think. Think. What happened? Where were they? How did they get here? Was that her lover he was working on? Her mate? She didn't see how it could be so. He didn't survive the coupling did he? No. Not one ever had before.

She strained to see whatever she could around where she lay on her back. Everything looked out of context. Something had gone terribly wrong for them to wind up here. Wherever this could be. As leader she was the one who should be leading but how when she couldn't move. And why couldn't she move. What had happened? How many other survivors were there? Only three? Two if the hapless gent didn't start responding soon. Shouldn't he be responding by now? How safe were they laying here? Were there predators lurking nearby?

Her breathing quickened. She must conserve her energy. Wait. Just wait for his help. She took some deep breathes trying to get the pain to subside. And remember. She must remember. Why couldn't she remember?

He sidled back to her side. “I'm afraid my efforts are to no avail. He was too far gone. I can't bring him back. I am so sorry. Now, if I may, I must attend to your condition.”

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “I-I don't know what to say. Who was he? Do you know?”

“You mean you don't remember? Yes, yes of course, I knew him well. We were working together.”

“Really. What, what is your position? Why don't I recognize you?”

“You took a mighty fall. You've suffered a blow to the head and other injuries. It is no wonder your memory is fuzzy. Relax and trust me to administer to you how I must and perhaps it will all come back to you. Don't worry. We will get to know each other very well.”

He started soothing her head then moved downward, down toward her swollen abdomen and kept massaging and -- and, what felt like stitching with ever so soft silkiness, over the sore spots. It was easing her anxiety so she let her vision drift upwards.

There above was... what was that up there? Was it night or day? Something way above was blocking out the light source. It seemed heavy with intricately crossed sections creating a structure for support. She was peering at the underside. The side that was decorated with shimmery delicate webs. Webs? Yes, webs! Her queen-dom of webs! That's where she fell from. That's where she belonged!

It was all coming back to her! Betrayal! Her lover. Her chosen mate. Every detail was well planned. He had brought her an enticing offering of soft-bellied beetle. They had started enjoying it together. She was willing to share. She was no longer ravishingly hungry. He entertained her with a skillful courtship dance. He had been so good looking and such a virile choice she had no intention of cutting the ritual short. It was going to be an awesome night of mutual copulation. Maybe, maybe even multiple times. They were both going to get lucky. She was looking forward to it being so sublime. So fulfilling.

She was bulging with a ripe egg sac perfectly spun and all that was needed was his speedy sperm and the deed would be complete. The pheromones were reading ready and she was welcoming his pedipalps to unfurl within her. Suddenly, a piercing stab to her hour-glass figure jolted her and made her lose her grip causing them both to spiral down; down into a great abyss ending in murky blackness gasping for breath beneath a watery grave. If not for this life-saver...This pale, skinny wanna-be...

“No! You are no life-saver! My survival senses failed. They should have warned stranger danger! You are the one that pierced my center. You're the one that caused our fall!”

“Ah, I see even with half your brain eaten you are beginning to remember. Yes, I am but a puny, pale male. But we males all have an instinctive drive to pass on our unique DNA to a new generation. I find myself extremely drawn to an older more voluptuous female specimen such as yourself. The chance for one like me to attract one of your royal class and desirability is near impossible. Much more probability I would be eaten for trying. I could have resorted to the suicide sacrificial effort of simply throwing myself directly into your waiting maw while delivering my seed to your quivering underbelly epigynum. At least my legacy would live on.

“No, instead I chose to work with Mister Big-Strong-Brown Body and let him take the risk of your rejection and act as a distraction for him. He was actually fairing pretty well for a first timer. He was ready to take the plunge before I rudely interrupted and beat him to the punch, so to speak.

“So, yes, My Pretty, it is my heritage your precious sac will carry. I will guard it with my life now after I hoist it back to the rafters above. I assure you, the coitus has been captivating. The bonds that bind your legs have obviously left you spellbound. Strictly a self-preservation tactic. I have plugged your riveting receptors so no other male can have the pleasure. But it wouldn't matter anyway. Your lover's guts gave me the fortitude to get you prepped. Now I'll have to devour you, My Sweet, to have the nourishment necessary to complete the hefty job before me.

“I admit mating with you has provided ecstasy beyond compare. I will cherish the memory. Once I'm finished wrapping our fertile sac in silk for transport I'll dive into your attractive red hour-glass figure to feast on that tasty shiny black buffet of bulbous abdomen you brandish about so temptingly. Sure, sure I stalked you. I wanted you. You would have devoured me. I planned, I betrayed a friend and I have been victorious. So sorry, Your Highness, but what would you expect in this mate-eat-mate world of ours?”

<><><>

Suddenly interrupted, a tiny finger pointed their way. “EEK! EW! Daddy, Daddy! What is it?” Screamed a little girl carrying a pink child-sized fishing pole to her father as she sludged through the muck in her purple polka-dot goulashes under the bridge heading toward their favorite fishing spot along the river.

“Looks like a nasty black-widow spider, Sweetheart. We don't want that around here!” Daddy smashed the heel of his boot down on the unfortunate melodramatic scene unfolding on the bank and twisted it all into the mud.

The Twisted End